Superstorm Sandy

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Ann Allen recalls meeting a woman who looked in disbelief at the Breezy Point site where more than 100 homes burned during superstorm Sandy.

“It reminded her of a graveyard,” Allen said.

But as WCBS 880’s Alex Silverman reported, there are signs of recovery in the Queens waterfront neighborhood a year later, although many residents have not returned.

One hundred thirty-five homes were lost in a flash when a horrific fire ripped through Breezy Point the night Sandy struck. There was barely any evidence of the houses’ existence except for concrete foundations. Miraculously, no one was killed.

Today, where there was once a smoldering pile of rubble, wood frames are rising.

“I’m very proud,” said Artie Lighthall, manager of the co-op that runs Breezy Point. “It’s been a long year, but we got through. … With the work that we’ve tried to do, it actually feels like it’s been more than (a year).”